Joe Ortiz = 2012 Robbie Ross?

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When Robbie Ross was told he'd made the big-league club out of spring training last year, he was shocked, as were many Texas Rangers fans who had no idea who Robbie Ross was. After preparing all spring to be a minor-league starter, Ross was put on the big-league club as a middle reliever and ended up having a great season — going 6-0 with a 2.22 ERA in 65 innings of work.

The Rangers have a new Robbie Ross in 2013 as Joe Ortiz surprisingly made the club as a bit of a no-name brought in to try to fill the voids left by established veterans like Koji Uehara and Mike Adams, who are now pitching elsewhere.

So far, Ortiz has been phenomenal in leverage situations, putting up a solid 1.04 ERA in 8 2/3 innings of work on the young season, as he's allowed just one earned run with six strikeouts and just one walk.

Ortiz, like Ross, is a small lefty who isn't much in the way of imposing. But Ortiz, at 5-7, makes the 5-11 Ross look like a giant.

If Ortiz can keep this up in 2013, he might end up being an even bigger surprise than Ross was last year.